The present invention relates to simulation apparatus. More particularly, the invention relates to apparatus for the simulation of decision making, behavior, and experiences of living beings such as human beings in interpersonal relationships and activity.
Communication and education concerning interpersonal relationships and activity in twos, small groups, a variety of organizational structures, and in social life at large has been and continues to be a subject of human endeavour. Such communication takes poetic, prose, and oral forms, among others. Scientific presentations and approaches have also appeared in this broad area. The Christian faith is concerned with redemption of each person in relationship (see, e.g. Matthew 18:1-20, I Corinthians 12, and Ephesians 6) and the Church calls this technological age to a vitality of interpersonal relationship commensurate with its sophistication in the engineering arts.
Even though living in interpersonal relationship is the day-to-day experience of almost every person, understanding our experiences and emotions is frustratingly elusive, difficult, paradoxical and subjective. And because it is so difficult for the individual to achieve such understanding, it is even more difficult to achieve a common social understanding of the most fundamental experiences and problems of life together. It is, therefore, a purpose of the invention to provide a kind of apparatus which can play a part in facilitating such individual and social understanding.
Oral communication regarding interpersonal relationships is important, although it is often difficult to focus attention on any one subject, especially if it be emotionally charged, so that significant new understandings may emerge. Written matter has the advantage of remaining changeless as the reader attempts to grasp its content, but the written word can be dry, difficult to grasp, ambiguous, and tediously complex in addressing fundamental questions in the area of interpersonal relationship. Moreover, it is difficult for many readers to think for themselves when pages of printed matter lie before them.
Diagrammatic approaches, such as sociograms and organization charts share the advantage with written matter of remaining changeless when read and have the further advantage of being more concise. However, such diagrams are essentially static representations which have limited usefulness in portraying dynamic psychological and sociological phenomena.
Role-playing simulations and experiments can be useful, but these can be time-consuming and difficult to organize. Computer simulations are similarly useful but can be time-consuming, expensive, and complicated.
Still another approach involves the use of a mechanical or electronic simulator of the individual person, the construction and operation of which closely relates to a simple analog of aspects of personality, emotions, outside influences, and behavior which are to be demonstrated. Such apparatus can be simple, largely self-explanatory, changeless when interpreted, and yet have a dynamic adjustable operation. A form of such a simulator is disclosed in my copending patent application, "Simulation Apparatus," Ser. No. 580,308 filed May 23, 1975, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,971,142 issued Jul. 27, 1976.
A simulator embodiment disclosed in said patent involves adjustment dials which are used to adjust positive and negative voltages corresponding to decisional influences the sum of which is applied to a level detector which operates decision-indicating lamps and display the decision which follows from the magnitude and type of decisional influences. Social pressure and leadership influence may be subjects of dial adjustment, as well as personal desire or inclination and certain personality variables.
However, it would be even more advantageous if such a simulator of the individual were constructed so that a plurality of simulators were capable of being brought into physical interrelationship analogous to interpersonal relationship. Then situations, paradoxes, and problems in interpersonal relationships would be greatly clarified and self-expressive and educational functions would be more readily accomplished. Just such a form of construction resulting in a variety of unusual simulation apparatus made possible thereby is accomplished according to an invention herein disclosed.